Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/9786938.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Captive_Prince_-_C._S._Pacat
  Relationship:
      Damen/Laurent_(Captive_Prince)
  Character:
      Damen_(Captive_Prince), Laurent_(Captive_Prince)
  Additional Tags:
      First_Time_Bottoming, Dreams_and_Nightmares, Past_Abuse, Past_Rape/Non-
      con, Fluff_and_Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Blow_Jobs, First_Time_Topping
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-02-16 Words: 3323
****** Those Dreams That Haunt ******
by Darkestsiren
Summary
     After a nightmare, Laurent finds comfort, and a new sense of power,
     in Damen's arms.
Notes
     This takes place about six months after King's Rising. It's just
     another step in how I envision Laurent and Damen might deal with
     Laurent's past abuse.
     Again, my sincere apologies if this is in any way problematic for
     anyone. I am trying to handle this with as much gentleness and
     respect as possible.
See the end of the work for more notes
Most days were fine. Laurent got through them the same way he always had, with
his intellect, his rigid control, his cold, feigned disdain. But something was
different now. He was different, now. 
It was because of Damen. His dark prince. The man who’d looked at him and seen
the truth of who he was instead of the facade Laurent had worked so hard to
cultivate. Damen, so gentle and attentive that it made Laurent want to be a
better person just so he could deserve him.
Nights were the hardest. That’s when the differences of his new life were
starker, harder to ignore. He’d never had nightmares before. He’d always held
himself too tightly, even in rest, to allow his thoughts to stray to what had
happened, what had been forced upon him. 
But now. With Damen. Laurent’s cast-iron control was weakening with every
glorious touch, every mind-numbing kiss, every inch of Damen’s bronze and honey
skin that pressed into him with tenderness and love, with that amazing heat
that sizzled between them until Laurent didn’t know where his own body ended
and Damen’s began.
And so… 
 
A large, calloused hand gripped him from behind. Forced him forward over the
table. Laces united, pants pushed down. A hand over his mouth as his uncle
forced himself inside, slamming him hard against the rough edge of the table,
splitting him open. Laughter. 
“He’ll never really love you, Laurent. Who could love you? You’re nothing. A 
disappointment. A used, icy shell.”
 
Laurent awoke with a sharp cry, clapping his hand over his mouth. He shuddered
and forced back his sobs, praying Damen wouldn’t wake. The room was night dark,
just the soft glow of a faint moon filtering in through thin curtains. Laurent
slid out of bed and went to the window, desperate for air. 
His uncle had never said those exact words to him, of course, but Laurent felt
them as if he had. Crushing. True. 
“It’s not true, Laurent.” Damen’s sleep-thick voice came from a few feet away.
He knew better by now than to approach Laurent when he was shaking and clammy,
risen from sleep by who knew what. 
Laurent didn’t turn, only drew in Damen’s presence like a lifeline. 
“You aren’t any of the things your uncle accused you of being.” Damen took a
few steps closer, slowly.
“Some of it is true, Damianos.”
Damen was right behind him now, an arm’s length away. If he wanted, Laurent
could have stepped back into his embrace. He didn’t.
“No, it isn’t.” Firm in the night’s closeness. “He could never see you. All he
saw was an obstacle. Everything he did was designed to break you. He didn’t
know you couldn’t be broken. He didn’t know you are made of finer stuff than
most.”
Damen’s sweet words pierced Laurent, breaking him into pieces. How could this
amazing man think so highly of him? How could he ever be worthy of his love,
after everything he’d done, everything he’d allowed? 
Tears slid down his cheeks and he was falling, folding into himself,
disappearing. Damen was there then, strong arms circling him, holding him up,
lips whisper soft on his neck.
“I see you, Laurent,” he said. “I see everything you are, and I love you. All
of you.”
Laurent couldn’t speak, and he didn’t know what he would say if he could. He
couldn’t tell Damen that his love only made Laurent hate himself more. Only
sharpened the bitterness of his own failings. Instead he let Damen turn him,
let him wrap him up in his warm embrace, let himself be comforted. 
After a long while Damen spoke softly. His breath ruffled Laurent’s hair. “I
know you don’t believe me yet, Laurent, and that’s ok. I know it will take time
for you to be ok, for you to see yourself the way I see you. But I am here and
I will give you anything you need, for as long as you need it. I’m not going
anywhere. You’re not alone anymore. You never have to be alone again.” 
Even in his misery something in Laurent’s chest eased at Damen’s promise. He
looked into Damen’s eyes, taking strength from the openness of his gaze. 
“I don’t deserve you, Damen.” Laurent heard the tremor in his voice and took a
slow breath. “I’ve been…” He couldn’t find the word. 
“What, Laurent?” Damen’s tone was gentle. “You’ve been hurt? Mistreated? Used,
and cheated, and betrayed?”
Laurent cringed into Damen’s chest, his uncles’s accusations ringing in his
ears. 
“I know. I know, Laurent.” Damen lifted Laurent’s chin until he could look into
his eyes. He wiped the tears from Laurent’s face so gently Laurent thought he’d
break. “It doesn’t change who you are. It doesn’t change how I feel about you.
It doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve happiness, and love. You deserve
everything, Laurent. Everything.”
Laurent shook his head but Damen soothed him with warm hands on his back,
pressing Laurent into his chest to stifle the shaking. They stood in the cool
moonlight. The breeze was warm, still rich with summer, though fall would soon
be upon them. Laurent drew a breath and leaned away, standing on his own. He
looked out the window, gaze unfocused, just breathing, trying to believe the
beautiful things Damen said to him. He wanted to believe them. 
“Give yourself time, Laurent.”
“It’s been six month, Damianos. Surely that’s long enough.”
Damen smiled. Laurent didn’t look but he knew Damen was smiling. He could feel
it, like sunlight on his skin. “Always so impatient, Your Majesty.” Teasingly.
He drew a timid finger down Laurent’s arm. A tremor shot through him. Laurent
locked his muscles on instinct. “So demanding.”
“Cast-iron bitch.” 
Damen recoiled, as though Laurent had struck him. He supposed he had, in a way.
“That’s not… You’re not. You never were.” Through his teeth.
Damen, his loyal defender. Laurent fought a smile and moved away. He was aware
of his thin chiton, the only thing covering his pale skin. He sank down on the
bed and hoped Damen would give him a minute to gather himself before joining
him. 
A sigh, long and troubled, yet patient. Damen watched him from beneath heavy
brows. He was naked, his skin glimmering with silver in the moon’s glow.
Laurent swallowed back a wave of desire, and the accompanying shame that
inevitably followed. Damen tilted his head, his gaze sharpening.
Curse him, Laurent thought. How can he read me so easily? He’d have to be
better at controlling his emotions, his reactions. 
Damen saw that too, Laurent realized, too late. Damen sat beside him, leaning
forward, his large arms propped on his knees. “I would never do what he did.”
Quietly. “I’d never use your feelings against you.”
Laurent closed his eyes, felt his jaw tighten. 
“Auguste would want you to be happy.” Barely breathed. 
The words rolled through Laurent like an icy wind. He sat there, rigid,
fighting. It was still there between them. Death. 
Finally, “Yes.”
He felt Damen breathe again, felt the warmth that came off his body. Laurent
ached for that heat, for the comfort of Damen’s touch, his arms. Yet, he held
himself straight. Separate. As he had for so long. 
Damen leaned back, casually resting his weight on an extended arm. He watched
Laurent and waited. 
He always waited. It was how this game always went between them. Damen pushed,
then retreated, waiting for Laurent to meet his challenge. He could wait
indefinitely. Laurent hated it. And loved it. He loved that Damen never took,
just waited for the offering. He loved that he was gentle and slow, the way
Laurent liked. He loved that when Damen came inside him, Laurent felt as though
he held within himself all that Damen was: strong and honest and filled with
sunshine. 
Laurent unclasped his hands and let one fall onto Damen’s well-muscled thigh.
His skin was smooth and soft, despite years of training and sun. He heard
Damen’s breath hitch and smiled to himself. He secretly delighted in this.
Being able to arouse Damen with just a touch. He let his eyes move to the side,
careful not to turn his head, and glanced into Damen’s lap. Not fully hard, but
well on the way. Damen’s cock was just as glorious as the rest of him, full and
heavy and long, with a finely shaped head and a pleasing, straight shaft. The
veins stood out deliciously and Laurent felt his stomach curl, felt his own
cock, flushed and hot under his chiton. 
His hand trailed higher, the softness of Damen’s body hair ticking his fingers.
He drew his touch into the warm crevice where thigh met body. Damen stifled a
gasp. Laurent didn’t look back but he allowed himself the pleasure of dipping
his chin, turning his head so he could look at Damen’s body properly. His cock
was laid slightly to the right, straining as it came to attention. 
Laurent was up and kneeling between Damen’s legs before he even realized he’d
decided to do so. He met Damen’s startled gaze and saw his own wide eyes
mirrored in them. 
“You don’t have to,” Damen said. 
“I know.” Laurent rarely knelt for anyone, even Damen. He pleasured with his
mouth even less. 
Here, now, he felt the unexpected need to pierce that barrier, to conquer that
fear. To take this act back from his uncle. 
Laurent lowered his head and licked a line up Damen’s thigh to his sack,
tonguing at the warmth there. Damen, never one to hide his enjoyment, let his
head loll back, eyes falling closed beautifully. He was ethereal in the pale
light, despite his size, the ridges and valleys of his body high-lighted in
silver. Laurent teased him with tongue and lips. He licked up Damen’s shaft,
excruciatingly slow, circled his exposed head, lapped at the bead of moisture
that had formed on the tip, then swallowed him fast, taking Damen’s long cock
to the back of his throat. 
Damen gasped. He fisted the sheets, knuckles white. He knew not to touch him. 
Laurent smiled. He drew off, took him in again. Kissed and lathered and played,
learning what made Damen tense up, what made him arch his back, breathe in
sharply. What made him whine and moan. Laurent found that he was pleased, that
he enjoyed bringing pleasure to Damen. He enjoyed being the giver, the one in
control. 
He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. 
Laurent didn’t let him come. He stood, pushed Damen back onto the bed, took the
phial of oil from the table by the bed and poured several drops over his
fingers. 
Damen watched him, heat in his eyes. 
“Don’t touch me,” Laurent instructed. Damen gave his assent but his eyes
begged. Laurent climbed onto the bed slowly, his knees between Damen’s,
spreading him wide. Damen raised a dark brow but didn’t protest. Laurent
hovered over Damen, propped up with a hand near Damen’s shoulder, resisting the
urge to press his body into Damen’s. He reached down. 
Moonlight lit the room with silver, deepening the shadows, and the breeze
brought in the sweet scents of jasmine and roses. Gentle fingers drew the
circle of Damen’s entrance and Laurent relished the little surprised sound that
came from his lips. 
“Have you ever received before?” Laurent asked, his voice husky. His cock hung,
hard and heavy between them. 
Damen looked up into Laurent’s eyes. “No.”
Laurent lifted a pale, arched brow. 
“No one’s ever offered to take me,” Damen explained. “And I’ve never asked.”
“No desire for it?”
“Not until recently.”
Laurent smirked, letting some of the heat in his belly come into his eyes.
“Would you like me to take you, Damianos?”
Damen blushed, looking more vulnerable than a man his size should. “Yes,” he
breathed, eyes locked on Laurent’s. 
Laurent held his gaze, feeling his face soften. He bent, resting his forehead
against Damen’s, and closed his eyes, fighting to control his breathing. It hit
him hard, harder than he’d expected. Damen, with all his massive strength and
dominance, wanted this, wanted Laurent inside him. Laurent felt a shattering
somewhere inside himself. A sudden weight. A duty to make this as different
from his own first time as was humanly possible. To give Damen pleasure instead
of pain, tenderness instead of indifference, love instead of contempt. 
“Have you ever given before?” A whisper. A glimmer of fear. 
Laurent lifted his head and forced himself to meet Damen’s eyes. He shook his
head slowly. 
“A first for both of us, then.” 
Laurent asked the question with his eyes. 
A long moment passed, silent but for their breath. “Yes.” Damen leaned up and
caught Laurent’s lips. Laurent melted into him, letting the heat of Damen’s
kiss sink into him. He pressed careful fingers against Damen’s entrance,
circling again, slow and steady. Heat spiraled down Laurent’s spine, seeped
into his belly, his arms, his legs. His skin slid against Damen’s, rough and
silky all at once, and Laurent felt his cock twitch with impatience.
Laurent pressed an oiled finger inside Damen, relishing Damen’s gasp, catching
it with his lips. He circled, stretching Damen slowly, letting the heat build.
Damen’s arms came around him unconsciously and Laurent froze. 
Damen flinched, remembering his promise, and forced his arms back onto the bed,
fists tangling in the sheets. Laurent pressed in deeper. 
Damen broke the kiss, his head tipping back to moan into the night. He was
beautiful, his cheeks warm and dark, black-lashed eyes squeezed shut, his
breath caught in his throat as Laurent moved inside him. Laurent pressed his
lips to the column of Damen’s throat and fought the urge to grind against him.
He added a second finger, stretched slowly, searched for that place inside him
that would make him shake and scream. When he found it, Damen’s back came off
the bed, his surprised shout echoing off the chamber’s walls. 
Laurent smiled, power surging through him. He pressed again.
“Laurent!” Damen cried, his voice ragged. His knees came up slightly,
unconsciously opening himself for Laurent. 
Laurent drew his lips over Damen’s collarbone, laving the hollow there, dipping
down to trace the rounded swell of his chest, the point of his brown nipple.
Inside him, Laurent curled his fingers again and Damen cried out, begging.
Laurent pumped into him, hitting Damen in just the right place over and over
until Damen was quivering beneath him. 
“Please,” Damen whimpered. “Please, Laurent.”
He felt raw, stripped. Awed. “Patience,” Laurent whispered, adding a third
finger. Damen shivered. 
“Let me touch you,” Damen pleaded. Broken. “Let me touch you, Laurent. Please.”
Laurent looked at him. Damen was tense, straining, his face crumpled, his arms
stretched out straight to either side, flexed. Taut. Laurent stilled, unsure.
“Damen.”
Damen opened his eyes, finding Laurent’s gaze. His dark eyes were shining,
yearning, alive with want. “I just want to hold you.”  
Laurent wasn’t sure he could do this with Damen’s hands on him. He wasn’t sure
he could he do it without his hands on him. Slowly, Laurent nodded, breathing
in surprised relief as Damen’s arms circled his waist, held him close. The kiss
was sharp, teeth and tongues and need. Heat and want built between them, skin
moving over skin, Laurent’s fingers sliding in and out of Damen, lips and
breath melding together.
Finally, Laurent withdrew his hand. Damen gasped, his hips curling up,
demanding. Laurent whispered soft words in his ear, poured oil on his cock.
Damen’s large hand took hold of him, spread the oil, placed him at his
opening. 
“Stop me if it hurts,” Laurent told him. 
Damen nodded, eyes blown wide.
Laurent pushed in, slow and careful. His mind flashed with a hundred images. He
forced them away. 
Damen flinched, locking down. 
Laurent froze. “Breathe, Damen,” he said. Too stiff. He knew this, this fear,
this pain. He looked into Damen’s face, saw him grimace, saw him grit his
teeth, squeeze his eyes shut. 
No— 
Laurent started to shake, panic buzzing in his chest. He heard his uncle, felt
his foul breath, hot and fragrant against his skin, felt him slam into him,
unrelenting. 
“Laurent.” Soft. 
He was breaking, splintering apart, and there was no one to help him. 
“Laurent.” More strongly. A hand on his cheek, warm and rough. “Look at me.”
Laurent pried his eyes open. Damen was watching him with careful eyes. With
love and desire. 
“I want this. I want you,” Damen reminded him. 
Laurent saw the truth of his words written on his face. He drew a shaky breath.
Another. “Damen.” 
Damen drew him down, caught his lips, kissed him delicately. Laurent kissed him
back,  gratefully, letting the softness of Damen’s mouth numb his mind, awaken
his body. 
They moved together, a gentle dance of ebb and flow, of lips and skin and
breath, and when Laurent pushed inside him again Damen moaned in pleasure,
angling his hips to receive him. His hands were gentle on Laurent’s hips.
Laurent loved him slowly, and, though it was he who was in control, he who set
the pace, Laurent felt himself enveloped by Damen’s warmth, surrounded by his
fluid strength, swaddled in his seemingly infinite gentleness. His love. 
“Damen.” A gasp.
A hand in Laurent’s hair, softly. Lips, warm and delicate at his throat, so
achingly sweet, adoring. Laurent was melting, the broken, burned parts of his
soul falling adrift, one by one. He let it happen, let himself come undone with
Damen beneath him, let himself be lost inside the man he loved, the man who
loved him. And when he came, shuddering, his breath hitching, mouth open on a
silent scream, Damen held him close, gasping his name and shaking, his own
pleasure spilling over.
Laurent came back to himself slowly. He was aware of heat beneath him, the
softness of skin under his lips, the closeness of arms around him, languid and
perfect. The moonlight, pale and still. He drew in a long breath and an
embarrassingly happy smile pulled at his mouth.  
Damen sifted his fingers through Laurent’s hair, twisting and curling in the
short strands. He nuzzled into Laurent’s neck and sighed contentedly. Laurent
shifted as gently as he could, freezing when he felt Damen tense up. 
“Try to relax,” he instructed softly. He pressed his softening cock further
inside Damen before pulling out as gently as he could. Damen grimaced, but he
didn’t lock down. When he was free, Laurent smiled down at Damen and leaned
down to kiss him, once, before he got up to find a cloth. 
Damen grinned, shaking his head. “My Laurent,” he said. Teasing. “So
fastidious.”
“Would you prefer we scrape your seed off ourselves in the morning?” Laurent
asked, petulant. 
Damen smiled, his amusement clear. “I would prefer you not leave my arms.
Ever.”
Warmth swirled in his belly and Laurent felt a shiver go through him. He
returned to the bed, cloth in hand, and let the softness he felt show in his
eyes.
He wiped them both clean and settled back into Damen’s embrace. Damen made a
pleased sound as he wound his arms around Laurent, pulled him in close. Laced
their fingers together. Laurent was almost asleep when Damen spoke. 
“When did the dreams start?”
Laurent considered his answer. He lifted his head and looked into Damen’s eyes.
“When I started to feel safe.”
A pained smile flashed over Damen’s face, quickly smoothed. “Safe enough to
relax?”
A nod. 
“I’m glad you feel safe with me, Laurent. And, I’ll be here, every night, to
fight the memories with you.”
Laurent bowed his head, part in shame, part in gratitude. He pressed a kiss
into Damen’s collarbone and settled his head on his enormous chest. Damen’s
arms tightened around him, safe and secure. 
“Will you take me again in the morning?” Damen whispered.
Laurent smiled, sunlight in his veins. “Whenever you want, Damianos.”
End Notes
     I hope you liked this! It came to me as I was driving and I just had
     to get it down. Please let me know what you thought, I love hearing
     from you wonderful people! And thanks for reading!
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
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